No Changes to Next Season's Flu Shots

Each flu season, government agencies meet to review potential changes to influenza vaccines. These reviews are essential since influenza viruses often change during the migration between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres.

This means influenza vaccines must be updated annually to include the viruses that will most likely circulate in the upcoming flu season. 

Today, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its recommendations to vaccine manufacturers for the virus strains to be used in influenza (flu) vaccines for the 2025-2026 flu season in the United States.

On March 13, 2025, the FDA stated that after a comprehensive review of U.S. and global surveillance data, the recommendations are similar to those for the previous year’s strain selection.

Furthermore, the FDA does not anticipate any impact on the timing or availability of vaccines in the U.S. This year, about 100 million flu shots were distributed in the U.S.

To inform the selection of the flu virus strains, the FDA convened a meeting of scientific and public health experts from the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Defense. During the meeting, these federal partners collaboratively evaluated and analyzed U.S. and global surveillance data related to the epidemiology and antigenic characteristics of flu viruses currently circulating.

For the ongoing 2024-2025 flu season, most vaccines are trivalent (three-component), and many will be thimerosal-free and egg-based. These flu shots are offered at clinics and community pharmacies in the U.S.